Means and method for providing access to pipe couplings in concrete slabs



Aug. 7, 1962 R. c. DoYLE 3,047,930

NEANs AND METHOD POR PROVIDING AccEss TO PIPE COUPLINGS 1N CONCRETEsLABs Filed June 9, 1961 Robert C. Doy/e I N VEN TOR. BY ,QM WWWiilnited States Eater/it Sl@ Patented Aug. 7, 1962 hee 3,047,930 MEANSAND METHD EUR PROVIDENG ACCESS T lllE CUPLINGS 1N CONCRETE SLABS RobertC. Boyle, 3815 S. 11th St., Tacoma, Wash. Filed .lune 9, 1961, Ser. No.116,050 8 Claims. (Cl. 25--1l8) This invention relates to a new anduseful method and associated device for providing access to conduits andpipe couplings embedded in concrete slabs or the like.

When pouring concrete slabs or the like, it is often necessary toaccomodate conduits that pass through the concrete slab. lt is thereforeoften necessary or desirable to provide facilities .for disconnectingthe portion of the conduit projecting above 'the concrete slab from theconduit embedded in the concrete, so that repairs may be made in theconduit system when necessary at some future date. Accordingly, the pipecoupling or that portion of the conduit through which repairs may bemade must remain exposed through the concrete. The 'usual proceduretherefore, is to position the upper exposed ends of the pipe coupling atthe upper surface of the concrete slab or slightly thereabove. Thisrequires therefore that the concrete slab be poured to an exactpredetermined level so as to not cover the exposed upper portion of thecoupling or permit said upper exposed end to project too far above theupper surface of the resultant concrete slab. The exacting requirementof this procedure heretofore used has therefore involved the use ofhighly skilled labor and the expenditure of time and materials necessaryto perform the concrete pouring operation with the required degree ofpreciseness. Ey the practice of the present invention, however, atremendous reduction in time and necessary skills is` elfected withoutsacrificing or in any way reducing the pipe coupling accessibility.

it is therefore a primary object of the present invention to provide amethod to be used in lconjunction with the pouring of concrete aboutpipe couplings or the like whereby accessibility to the pipe coupling ismaintained without the exacting requirement as was heretofore necessaryin pouring the concrete to a predetermined elevation within closetolerances.

A. further object of this invention in accordance with the foregoingobject, is to provide a simple spacer unit to be applied to a pipecoupling establishing wide elevational limits ywithin which the concretemay be poured about the pipe coupling `and yet provide the requiredaccessibility to the pipe coupling after the concrete has hardened.

ln accordance with the foregoing objects, the present invention involvesthe installation of a pipe coupling slightly below a predetermined levelto which a concrete slab is to be poured. The novel spacer unit is thenapplied to the coupling from which it projects above the predeterminedlevel. The spacer unit is formed by a continuous outer sleeve of thinmaterial, such as plastic, that may be readily severed. Connected to thelower end of the sleeve and extending upwardly therefrom, there isformed an inner corrugated wall by means of which the spacer unit may beplaced about and spaced from the coupling. The corrugation of the lowersection inner wall of the spacer unit not only resiliently embraces thecoupling but also resists lateral pressure applied to the thin outersleeve by the concrete so as to maintain the spacing about the coupling.Connected to the upper projecting end of the outer continuous sleeve, is`a smooth thin inner wall which extends downwardly toward the corrugatedwall and is slightly spaced from a portion of the conduit connected tothe coupling which is to project above theconcrete slab. The inner wallwithin the upper section of the spacer unit has bonded thereto anannular filler disposed between the outer thin sleeve and the upperinner wall so as to protect the projecting portion of the conduit. Thethin outer sleeve may then be severed flush `with the upper surface ofthe concrete slab `after it has been poured and has hardened whereuponthe upper cut section of the spacer unit may be removed together withany filler projecting therebelow so as to expose the upper end of thecoupling positioned below the upper surface of the concrete slab butspaced therefrom by the remaining lower section of the spacer unit.

These together with other objects and advantages which will becomesubsequently apparent reside in the details of construction andoperation as more fully hereinafter described and claimed, referencebeing had to the accompanying drawings forming a part hereof, whereinlike numerals refer to like parts throughout, and in which:

FIGURE l is a sectional view through a concrete slab illustrating theinstallation of the novel spacer unit.

FIGURE 2 is a sectional view through the installed spacer unit of thepresent invention prior to being cut.

FIGURE 3 is a sectional view similar to that shown in FIGURE 2illustrating the removal of the upper section of the spacer unit afterbeing cut.

FIGURE 4 is a partial sectional view showing the exposed pipe couplingfrcm which a projecting removable portion of the conduit may be removed.

FIGURE 5 is a sectional view taken substantially through a planeindicated by section line 5-5 in FIG- URE 3.

Referring now to the drawing in detail, FIGURE l illustrates oneexemplary installation for the novel spacer unit generally referred toby reference numeral 10 which is lapplied to a conduit 12 embeddedwithin a concrete slab 14. As .seen in FlGURE l, the spacer unit 1i)projects above the upper surface 16 of the concrete ernbracing a portionof the conduit l2 disposed below the concrete surface 116i and aconnecting nipple 18.

Referring now to FlGURE 2, it will be observed that the conduit 12 isconnected to the projecting conduit portion 18 by means of pipe coupling2t). The spacer un-it 10 is therefore formed externally by a continuoussleeve member 22. The sleeve 22 is made of thin material capable ofreadily being cut such as plastic. Connected to the lower end 24 of thesleeve 22 is a corrugated spacer wall 26, the corrugations of whichresiliently embrace the coupling 20 and also laterally resist distortingpressure applied to the outer sleeve 22 so as to maintain the concrete14 spaced throughout from the coupling 2t). The corrugated spacer wall26 extends upwardly a d-istance sufficient to accommodate the coupling20. Connected to the upper end 28 of the sleeve 22 is a thin smoothinner wall 3G which extends downwardly from the upper end 28 4in closelyspaced relation to the projecting conduit portion l8r. The lower end 32of the inner wall 30 terminates ljust above the upper end of thecorrugated spacer wall 26. Disposed between the sleeve 22 and the upperinner wall 30, is a filler 34 of any suitable type providing acushioning protection for theprojecting conduit portion 13. The filler34 is however bonded only to the inner wall 30 for removal with theinner wall 30 and separation from the outer sleeve 22 as will hereafterbe explained.

It will be observed from FIGURE 2 that the concrete slab 14 has beenpoured up to the level 16 above the coupling 20. The actual level of theconcrete slab 14 may vary within limits established by the length of thespacer unit 10 with the coupling 20 being disposed preferably below thelevel 16 as illustrated in FIGURE 2. After the concrete has set, thespacer unit 10 may be cut flush with the level 16 by severing the outerthin sleeve 22 only. The resulting upper section 36 of the cut spacerunit 10 may then be separa-ted from the lower section 38 which remainsembedded in the concerete 14. lIt will be observed however that thefiller 34 will separate from the outer sleeve 22 of the 4lower section38 inasmuch as it is bonded only to the inner Wall 30 as hereinbeforeindicated. An access space 40 is thereby formed when `the upper section35 is removed as indicated at FIGURE 3.

As seen in FIGURE 4, the resulting installation of the conduit 12 andcoupling7 2th within the lower section 38 of the spacer unit provideseasy access for removal of the conduit portion 1S 'when repairs arenecessary or required.

When the spacer unit is installed prior to pouring of the concrete, itmay be desirable to provide a seal about the upper end 28 of the spacerunit in order to prevent material from accidentally filling the spacingbetween the spacer unit and the conduit. Accordingly, as more clearlyseen in FIGURE 2, a sealing rib 42 may be formed on the upper end 28 forsealing contact with the conduit portion 1?. It will also be appreciatedthat a sealing cap may be provided for the upper end of the conduitportion 18 for the same reason as well as for the exposed upper end thecoupling 20 when necessary.

From the foregoing description, the use of the novel spacer unit and themethod with which it is associated, will be apparent. It will thereforebe appreciated that the pouring of concrete yslabs in buildingconstructions will be rendered more economical and require `less time'as a result of the use of the novel spacer unit of the present inventionin accordance with the procedure hereinbeiore outlined.

The foregoing is considered as illustrative only of the principles ofthe invention. Further, since numerous modifications and changes willreadily occur to those skilled in the art, it is not desired to limitthe invention to the exact construction and operation `shown anddescribed, and accordingly all suitable modifications and equivalentsmay be resorted to, falling Within the scope of the' invention asclaimed.

What is claimed as new is as follows:

1. A spacing form for providing access to a conduit means embedded inconcrete, comprising, severable continuous outer sleeve means, saidsleeve means adapted to encompass a conduit means below a contemplatedupper surface of the concrete and extend upward therefrom to a pointsufficiently above said upper surface so as to allow some variation inthe level of the finished floor without completely embedding saidsleeve, conduit spacer means connected to the inner surface of the lowerportion of the sleeve means and adapted to space said sleeve means fromsaid conduit means, protective liner means spaced inwardly from theinner surface of the upper po-rtion of the sleeve means and adapted tosurround conduit means extending above the upper surface of theconcrete, said liner means connected to the upper end of the sleevemeans, a filler disposed between said sleeve means and liner means andbonded only to said liner means so as to allow ready removal of theupper portion of the sleeve means and associated liner means and fillerby mere severance of the outer sleeve at the level of the finishedfloor.

2. A spacing form for providing access to a conduit coupling secured toan embedded conduit, comprising, severable continuous outer sleevemeans, said sleeve means encompassing a coupling secured to the upperend of a conduit adapted to be em-bedded in concrete with said couplingat approximately the upper level of the concrete, and extending upwardlytherefrom, a second conduit secured to the coupling and extendingupwardly therefrom and encompassed by the upwardly extending portion ofthe sleeve means, spacer means connected to the inner surface of thelower portion of the sleeve means spacing said sleeve means from saidcoupling so as to allow easy access to said coupling, protective linermeans spaced inwardly from the inner surface of the upper portion of thesleeve means and surrounding said second conduit, said liner meansconnected lto the upper end of the sleeve means and extendingapproximately to the upper edge of said coupling, a filler disposedbetween said sleeve means and liner means and bonded only to said `linermeans so as to allow easy removal of the portion of said sleeve abovethe upper surface of the concerete', as well as the entire liner meansand filler by severance of the sleeve at the level of the upper surfaceof the concrete.

3. The combination of claim 2, wherein said spacer means comprises aninner corrugated wall resiliently embracing the conduit and resistinglateral distortion of the sleeve means.

4. The combination of claim 3, including sealing means connected to anupper end of the sleeve means for sealing engagement with the projectingportion of the conduit.

5. The combination of claim 1, wherein said spacer means comp-rises aninner corrugated wall resiliently embracing the conduit and resistinglateral distortion of the sleeve means.

6. The combination of claim 5, including sealing means connected to anupper end of the sleeve means for sealing engagement with the projectingportion of the conduit.

`7. The combination of claim l, including sealing means connected to anupper end of the sleeve means for sealing engagement with the projectingportion of the conduit.

8. A method for providing access to pipe couplings or the like embeddedin concrete slabs or the like, comprising the steps of: installing apipe coupling slightly below a predetermined level; Isecuring `anupwardly extending conduit section thereto; placing a spacer sleeveabout the coupling and lower partion of said conduit section forprojection above said predetermined level; pouring concretesubstantially up to said predetermined level; `and cutting the spacersleeve flush with the upper surface of the concrete after set, to exposethe upper end of the pipe coupling below the upper surface for easyaccess thereto.

References Cited in the tile of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS2,212,974 Bateman Aug. 27, 1940 2,270,286 Gerriets Ian. 20, 19422,659,124 Henry Nov. 17, 1953 2,870,515 Parfitt Ian. 27, 1959 2,914,832Lee Dec. l, 1959 2,916,909 Miller Dec. 15, 1959

